POR or POP

[princess noel]

Hi,
We have never stayed anywhere other than POR because we love it sooo much. However, this time we have a party of 5. (me, hubby, my mother, and two kids over 3.) My question is if two rooms at POP would be better than all of us in the bayou at POR? How are the busses at POP?? Thanks for any advice!!

 

[DisneyJoe]

ONE dedicated bus stop at Pop - no sharing with other resorts, no looping around the resort to multiple bus stops - just wait in line and get on and go direct to a park.

 

[princess noel]

So it sounds like the bus system is better!
Thanks! How about room and resort quality?

 

[dphopson]

we have stayed at pop twice. Now the rooms are basic but nice for the price. But the pools are awesome and they have under 5 water areas. The bus system is fast and not shared with the other value resorts. But this one is the most popular so it is always booked and loud. So if these are the only two you are wanting I would go with POP.

 

[dphopson]

also we just got back and stayed at the Lake Buena Vista Hotel and it was awesome. It is across the street from DTD and you have all the buses. It was a two bedroom suite with disney view for 129. Great Hotel.

 

[Ravenclaw87]

For a party of five though, wouldn't POR be the better resort--- don't they have rooms that sleep five? You'd need two rooms at Pop!

 

[princess noel]

My husband is worried about missing the landscaping at POR, but we know that would change anyway because we would be in the bayou with 5 people. Is there other things that make it more worth losing the space to stay with POR. I love the resort but the extra space is very appealing if there is not much of a difference. We don't use Boatwrights and are hardly at the resort, but we love the looks of POR and are wondering if we will miss it.

 

[lilclerk]

I think with 5 people, you'd be more comfortable with two rooms at Pop. Two bathrooms, two tvs, four full size beds, rather than two beds and a trundle.

The bus service and food court are great. Pop is awesome.

 

[slappy magoo]

The only reason I would consider 2 rooms at POP over a trundle-bed room at POR is because of the extra bathroom, and because...who's going to sleep in the other bed and who's going to sleep in the trundle? Will the mom and one of the kids sleep in the bed? Will you expect your mom to sleep in the trundle? It'd be different if you were talking about 2 couples and a wee one, or 3 siblings where the youngest or one of an opposite gender can sleep in the trundle. It's an awkward grouping for you.

 

[KC82271]

When I bring Mom, I get two rooms at Pop with the door in-between. This way she has her privacy, and we have ours. My DD goes between the two until the doors close at night to go to sleep.

If you are paying for preferred in Pop, you also have the chance, that one of the two adjoining rooms have a queen bed. We were lucky enough to get that last time. We took the two beds, Mom got the queen.

Rooms are okay. I have stayed as high as CB, but for the price and theme, Pop all the way.

 

[eroyee]

We also love POR and its hard for us to change,too. Saying that, we also love POP for the value resorts. Plus, like someone said, two bathrooms, two tv's, and more room to generally spread out. we always go visit POR when we stay at POP. You can do that,too. still take the boat to DTD or eat at the food court at POR. whichever you choose, have a magical vacation........

 

[goodtimes5286]

Theres nothing wrong with just giving POP a try one time. If you dont like it you could always go back. I would def go with POP (although I'm biased b/c I like it better than Port Orleans anyways). They've got a huge food court, 5 pools, they have multiple busses running on a 1 hotel route (there was only 1 time I wanted more then 5 minutes and ive stayed at POP over 10x and the time I waited forever I wasnt even staying at POP).

Different isnt always better.....but atleast it'll be different

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I think you will notice a real difference in presentation and ambiance at the resort. It can be a bit noisier (although not as bad as All Star). With that said, the cost of getting the second room and the breathing room that would provide is worth considering. Unfortunately Pop does not offer suites like All Star that would be a good solution for your group.

As others have said, busses are as good as any location. Possibly better even than POR as POP has only the one stop.

 

[plum pirate]

We have been in the same situation. We have always stayed at the moderates, mostly at POR, and once took my mother, so we were in the bayou with the trundle bed. I actually like the rustic atmosphere in this section as much as that of Magnolia Bay. The only downside was the sleeping arrangements. Because neither one of my kids (then about 10 and 6) would sleep on the trundle, I slept there. It wasn't terrible since I am relatively small, but it would have been better if one of my DDs had slept there or if they were small enough that one could have fit in the bed with me and DH (and the other with my mom). On our next trip, we took both my mother and my aunt, and they had connecting rooms at POR, which was wonderful.

Last year we stayed at POP due to budget. It was only me, DH and our girls. I was nervous about whether we would like POP and I have to say that while it was fine, all of us missed POR. POP did surprise me with how clean it was - cleaner than POR I think - and the food court was very nice. But, in our opinion, POP just cannot compare to POR for aesthetics and ambiance. We find POR very relaxing and don't mind the long walks or the wait for a bus because the grounds are so beautiful and lush and we like to visit the bar once during our trip to enjoy Bob the piano man. In comparison, at POP there is just lots and lots of concrete, and no shade or seating at the bus stops makes it very unpleasant (one morning we had to wait nearly 40 minutes for a bus to EPCOT. I realize that this was unusual, but it was very unpleasant standing in the sun for that long. The other thing my kids missed was the slide at the pool.

We would go to POP again, but it would not be our first choice. This trip, we were lucky enough to get the 4-3 offer at the Beach Club, and it is costing us only $400 more than we paid last year at POP (we must have paid rack rate, because our cost was high). Believe it or not, we are still worried that we will miss POR, but this is probably the only time we could afford a resort like BC, so we are giving it a go and the girls are excited about the pool.

It's obviously a personal decision, but for what it's worth, I thought I would share my experience with you. Either way, have a great time!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

POR is simply beautiful. There are four bus stops, but that means one is always fairly close to your room. The landscaping and theme are amazing. Boatwrights is a hidden treasure. I can't suggest POR enough.

 

[DisneyWall-E]

I have stayed at POP 3 times, about to be 4. My wife and I love it there so much. The food and atmosphere are are amazing. But, to be fare the only problem I could think of would be that the bus stops are not covered.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

That's a hard call. The decor at Pop is totally different than POR which you love. But having two bathrooms would be great. I'd look at pictures of Pop on Disneyworld.com and make sure the theme appeals to you. As long as it does, I'd say go for two bathrooms.

 

[princess noel]

Thanks everyone!
I think we are going to give POP a try since the two bathrooms and tv's do sound better with our group. I will just have to take the boat to Riverside for a visit this time!

 

[JEANYLASER]

POP is my favorite hotel! Pop all the way!

 

[goodtimes5286]

POR is simply beautiful. There are four bus stops, but that means one is always fairly close to your room. The landscaping and theme are amazing. Boatwrights is a hidden treasure. I can't suggest POR enough.

The problem I had (and also had at CS) was even though they had a plethera of stops, the busses came so slowly that you were sitting there for a while, but the busses at POP come madd quick.

To me it comes down to how long your gonna be around the hotel, POR is one of those places you can be around all of the time, POP is more like a hotel you wake up eairly and you come back to late. Like someone in WL who does parks 8A to 11P shouldnt b in WL, and people who are gonna take a couple chill days to soak in the hotel shouldnt choose POP or All Star (imo)